Friday's Fave Five 3/20/20

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A week ago, right about now, I was writing out lesson plans and finalizing field trip arrangements for a trip our grades 7-10 were going to take on Monday 3/16.  I left Monday's lessons open because of the trip.  I made note that several students would be gone on Thursday, and all students would be gone on Friday, because of the annual Fine Arts Festival sponsored by our Christian school association.

By 5:00 last Friday afternoon, the Fine Arts Festival was canceled.  By mid-afternoon on Sunday, the field trip was canceled.  And by later that same afternoon, school for 2 1/2 weeks (at least) was canceled.  And none of this was known for sure a week ago at this same time (11 am).  Now, I have completed two days of on-line training and am in the third day of teaching that way.  I'm learning how to make videos to post, both encouragement and teaching videos. Life changes.  Sometimes very quickly.

So these Friday's Fave Fives are from an unusual week.

1. To the best of my knowledge thus far, no one I know has gotten sick.  There are two cases in our area thus far, but most of us are, at this point, just doing our best to prevent getting this illness.

2. I have a good set-up here at home.  I've commandeered my husband's office (fortunately he has not been using it much lately) and can go in there, close the door, make videos, and concentrate on uploading work, grading work, and sending messages to students.

3. While family members have had to take pay cuts, no one is out of work.  

4. I have some extra time.  I really appreciate the opportunity to, yes, work awhile each day - but also have time to clean out closets, read, write, think, do some eBay, and clean some things that don't get cleaned very often.  That is a wonderful blessing to a woman who sometimes feels like she just can't accomplish all the things she has to do and also wants to do.

5. Technology allows us to keep doing what needs to be doing as far as education goes, but also to keep in communication with others thus far.

So, although this is a world situation that we must all work through, by the grace of God we are doing fine.  It's also brought people together more - it is wonderful not to see politics dominating the news constantly.  I know that God can use this in people's lives to draw them closer together and ultimately to Him.

Sleeping Coconuts

Sleeping Coconuts by John Nystrom
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Good information about the dramatic change in Bible translation techniques that these missionaries were able to implement after a terrible tsunami occurred in 1998. That part of the story - how about a dozen translations were taking place instead of just one or two - was very satisfying.

I did not find myself sucked into the book as in many missionary stories. It might have been better had we really gotten to know the family better in the pages in the book. Their children get only passing mentions. In spite of occasional references to touching events, I felt like the book was more academic than inspirational. It was, however, refreshing as usual to read anything about missions around the world.


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Friday's Fave Five 2-21-2020

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1. A new low-carb cheesecake recipe!!  This called for a chopped pecan crust, which I will start using even with my other low-carb recipes, because it is much, much better than an almond flour crust.  This also had a low-carb caramel sauce recipe that, while not quite as good as real caramel, was an acceptable substitute.  Mike loved it.  We must have had a little mouse in the refrigerator, because that cheesecake disappeared amazingly fast.

2. A sold mattress!  This is the one that was not comfortable for me even though it was a good quality mattress.  I listed it on Facebook Marketplace, and had FIFTEEN inquiries in ten hours - three in the first ten minutes.  That is really the place to go to sell things these days.  (I put it on Craigslist also and got no nibbles.)  We might have priced it too low, but - the best thing is that it is gone and out of the way in Mike's shop.

3. A walk in the woods on President's Day.  Our son and daughter in law came down to the property, and we went out to the "shoals," which remind me very much of the Wilds, where I used to work as a camp counselor back in my single days, and have been back to many times with school groups, family camps, etc., since.  It was wonderful to have a three-day weekend, and then to have a nice day at our property with family also.

4. And then. . . .a SECOND three-day weekend this week!!  We had a rain/snow/ice event yesterday, and low temps were below freezing early this morning, so we got the day off today.  Really, a delayed opening would have been fine, but we follow the local public school's school closings, so I am enjoying the day off!

5. Which means - I have a lot of time today to clean off my desk, which is (usually) impossible, pay bills, do blog posts (ahem), and many other things that need to be done.  Happy Friday!!

Old Town in the Green Groves by Cynthia Rylant

I had never heard of this book until this week.  Written by noted children's author Cynthia Rylant, it is intended to fill in the Ingalls family's years in Burr Oak, Iowa, that Laura Ingalls Wilder did not include in her books.

Over the years many attempts have been made to write other series about the Ingalls family (the Rose books by Roger Lea MacBride, the Caroline years books, and others).  This is probably as successful as any - which means to say, still not Laura's precise work.

The tone is similar to Laura's, although phrases are used, such as "pretty good," that Laura probably would not have used.  The book is not nearly as fleshed out.  I read it in under half an hour.  Because of not being fleshed out, the pacing moves very quickly.  The information and illustrations are nice.  It's just not a Little House book.

Which leads me to what really bothered me about this book.  Note the back cover pictured underneath.  This book has been placed in the chronological order of the Little House series.  I think that that is very presumptuous and disrespectful of Laura's work.  While the effort to fill in the gap is fine, the book does not belong in this middle of the listing of the well-known series.

This review will be linked at the end of the month to the Laura Ingalls Wilder February reading challenge on Stray Thoughts.

Friday's Fave Five 2-14-2020

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1. Last Saturday, we got a beautiful, unexpected SNOWFALL for about five hours.  I think that's partly why it was so beautiful - it was not expected.  The forecast had been for possible snow if the front arrived before dawn, but then cold rain.  Well, that's not what happened.  It was just enough snow (1-2 inches) to be beautiful, and it came down in huge flakes, but not enough to make the roads bad.  So we enjoyed winter for a little while.

2. A gate!  This has been Mike's project all week.  Whenever he tackles a project, he does it RIGHT.  This is at our farm and will greatly increase the security of the place.  I'm proud of him!

3. A good week at work.  Several things fell into place and got accomplished.  That's always a nice week.  And this is a three-day weekend.  

4. On Tuesday, Mike and my dad drove to a nearby town where the school microscopes were being serviced at a shop there.  My friend/colleague and I were having difficulty working out a time to drive there to pick them up.  So it was a blessing to us for Mike and Dad to take the time to go pick them up.  

5. A pre-Valentine dinner - and I splurged on a seafood boil.  Delicious.  And then, of course, being a teacher whose Life Science class is currently studying invertebrates - I had to take the clam and mussel shells, and crab legs, home in a box to show my students today. It was a great - and useful - Valentine's meal. :-)

Mission Possible by Marilyn Laszlo

Mission Possible: The Story of a Wycliffe Missionary by Marilyn Laszlo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amazing read. The story of an Indiana girl, Marilyn Laszlo, who goes to Papua New Guinea, and over the course of 20 years translates the Scriptures and introduces Christianity to a pagan tribe. The work was very difficult at first, but as the people began to see the changes that Christianity was bringing to their tribe, they wanted to have God's words "carved on a banana leaf." This lady had to overcome shamans, spirit worship, and witch doctor medicine. The people were illiterate, so they had to be taught to read. She had a series of helpers, including her sister, but she was the one who stayed all those years.

A young Christian couple refused to kill one of their twins even though tradition said the second child would be from the devil (and they named her after Miss Laszlo). When the little girls were toddlers, one was taken in a whooping cough epidemic. At the funeral, hecklers were taunting "We told you so!" But the father, Joel, prayed at the graveside (which was a first in itself): "Papa God, I am not angry. I know our little Marilyn is with you in heaven. You don't make mistakes. Satan is not going to win here. I will not turn my back on you. I will keep believing. You are the Strong One above all things. My little Marilyn is in a better place than here. I think, Papa, you wanted her with you, so I am OK. I am OK, Papa."

And as the author states - this was evidence that the Word of God was being carved, not only on banana leaves, but in the people's hearts.

Highly recommended.


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Technology is amazing

I didn't have a PowerPoint needed for Life Science - which I'm teaching for the first time in many years. My dear friend and colleague left at noon. She took her computer along to check for it while waiting at an appointment. As class was starting, I got a text from her--thirty miles away. "Found it! Emailing it to you now." I checked my email, it was there, I downloaded it, and taught from it. Technology is amazing.

Birds in the Snow!

We had an unexpected snowfall this morning.  Weatherman had called for a cold rain, with a chance of flurries around daybreak.  Well, the weather didn't start until around 10:00 this morning, and soon big, white, fluffy flakes were coming down, and continued falling until about 3:00 this afternoon.  So we have an inch of beautiful snow on the ground, and the bird activity was heavy.  It's been a surprise winter day, but very enjoyable.

 Just a common house finch, but the snow on his crown makes a pretty picture.

 First goldfinch of the year!

Orange-crowned warbler on the bottom.  A few minutes ago I got a rare sight - I saw the orange crown!!  That is not common at all.  It was just a slight orange line on its head.  Other than that pretty orange line, it is a very nondescript warbler.

 And the obligatory cardinals in the snow pictures.

And this was quite a treat.  Mike says it is rare to see a gobbler strutting in the snow, because it's not strutting season.  It was beautiful.

Friday's Fave Five, 2-7-2020

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1. A very nice dinner for my folks last weekend.  Family from Alabama, Georgia, and Texas were in town for the meal, as well as dear friends for many years from Alabama as well.  Dad's 90th birthday was last week.  They are doing well to both be 90 years old!

2. My siblings and me - photo taken the evening of the birthday party.  My sister (white sweater) got results of her scans this week and they are CLEAR!!  Wonderful news after completing chemo/radiation several months ago.

3. My book project at school is coming along.  With my dad reinforcing the books as they come in, and several students helping, we are replacing many books that are worn out - pitching some, getting new ones, and getting new copies of some that need to stay in the library.  With a generous donation for this purpose, it is a project that I'm loving doing.

4. Thankful for safety yesterday.  This brief video is taken outside my classroom window.  We got 4-5 inches of rain in our county in 24 hours, and also had to go to the ground level of our school building with grades 7-12 for an hour because of a tornado warning nearby.  (We did, however, provide entertainment for the child care children who were in the hallways with us!)  This entire situation could have been much worse, and to my knowledge everyone got home OK.

5. Mike has been down to our property several times this week.  Everything was fine even after the rough weather.  This next video is what I love.  You can't see them - we haven't seen them - but you can hear the wood ducks in the neighbor's pond just beyond those trees!

An Uttermost Part by Eunice V. Pike

An Uttermost Part by Eunice V. Pike
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is not easy to find, but then it's not in big demand either. This is another narrative written by Eunice Pike about her work (along with other translators) in the 1950s and 60s among the people of San Carlos and Chalco in the mountains of Mexico. It is an inspiration and a blessing to read of how their work, selling books, teaching literacy, and translating the New Testament into the Mazatec language, changed lives. The people of the area faced freedom but also persecution for following "God's way." This book is in the same tradition as Words Wanted and Not Alone by the same author (but much easier to find). I highly recommend all three books.


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